Rosa Lee (Brumley) Hankey passed away peacefully on October 19, 2026, in Katy, Texas at the age of 107. She was born June 16, 1919, near Brown and spent most of her childhood and teen years there where her father operated a store. She attended Star elementary school west of Brown and later Cobb school.
Following her graduation from Southeastern State College, Durant, she and Lowell were married on July 20, 1941. Less than a year later, Lowell enlisted in the Army and was shipped to North Africa and later to Italy while Rosa Lee began a teaching career in Achille and Wilson, Oklahoma. Upon his return from service in 1945, they moved to the panhandle where Lowell taught at Panhandle State College, and she taught elementary school at Guymon. Upon their return to Bryan County, she taught at Cobb, Kenefic and Caddo.
She lived an amazing life, starting on a farm without electricity, going all the way to the time of space travel and global communications. Through all of that, she was a very strong and independent lady who took life’s ups and downs as they came and kept living life to the fullest. She was a mother, educator, self-taught musician, artist, and an occasional poet.
She was a member of the Caddo Baptist Church, and loved her family and reading her bible. She cared deeply about helping others less fortunate, including sponsoring Living Water in the drilling of water wells in poverty-stricken areas of Latin America and supporting various other charities, such as Smile Train and Doctors Without Borders.
Rosa Lee was a life-long resident of Oklahoma, until her move to Katy, Texas in 2006 to be near her daughter. From that time until her death, she was a resident of the Carriage Inn senior living facility and was beloved by the staff and residents as “Miss Rosa”, where she would frequently play piano for the residents. The family would like to thank the staff of Carriage Inn for the love and great care they provided during these last 20 years of her long and fruitful life.
She is survived by her daughter, Susan Hankey Turner (John), grandson Christopher Turner, brother-in-law Ferrell (Friedel) Hankey and several nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Lowell Hankey; her parents, Benjamin Franklin Brumley and Lona Agnes Lee; siblings: Delmar (Ethel) Brumley, Alice (Lew) Wold, Roy (Pearl) Brumley, Irene (Louis) Thompson, and Hettie Bell (Leroy) James.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday October 24 at Holmes-Coffee-Murray chapel, with Pastor Roger Speers officiating. A visitation hour will be at 1pm, followed by the service at 2pm. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery in Durant.